The NFL Wants ESPN And The NFL Network To Stop Spoiling Picks At The Draft

In recent years, there’s been a noticeable uptick in the amount of spoiled picks at the NFL Draft. By “spoiled picks,” I mean someone on TV tells you who’s about to be drafted before the NFL’s commissioner actually walks on stage and announces it.

To some, this is massively anti-climactic. After all, the funnest part of any draft is usually the brief pause the man at the podium indulges in before announcing the name of a potentially important piece to your franchise’s future. But lately, thanks in large part to the increased coverage of the draft, the drama that comes with that pause has been taken away by the Adam Schefters and Chris Mortensens of the world. (Damn you both, and your BlackBerrys too.)

Now, the NFL, ESPN, and the NFL Network have come up with a plan to combat this annoying trend. Sort of. According to Sports Illustrated’sRichard Deitsch, the league is currently discussing ways both ESPN and the NFL Network can, you know, not ruin everything.

All three entities — the NFL, ESPN and NFL Network — are currently in discussions with each other on tipping of picks. So stay tuned.

So, both networks have agreed to not tip their hands visually, meaning they “will not show a draftee on the phone in the Green Room prior to the pick on the first night of the NFL Draft.”

However, the fact that reporters will still be allowed to tell you who’s being picked — before they’re actually picked — makes it sounds like the main problem here hasn’t been solved. So, if you fall into the category of people who hate having their team’s picks spoiled, we recommend making frequent use of the mute button this year.